As kitchen experts in the countertop business, we’ve put together more than a few helpful insights on the outdoor kitchen trend. From luxury to convenience to global lifestyle changes, the outdoor kitchen trend not only makes sense – it might be the most luxurious and valuable upgrade to your home this decade.

The Rise Outdoor Living Trends

The outdoor kitchen trend stems from a larger trend in residential real estate: outdoor living. This trend includes outdoor lounges, patio gathering spaces, and even sleeping areas protected by shady pergolas and pavilions. Living rooms are having double-doors installed that slide or swing wide to extend the family open-plan living space into an even broader outdoor deck or patio.

It’s only natural that outdoor living design would then focus on the luxury and convenience of an outdoor kitchen. One that goes above and beyond your typical barbecue and backyard picnic table.

Increasing the Home Value Significantly

In light of this hot new trend, we’re seeing outdoor living and outdoor kitchens as a hot way to boost real estate value. Because buyers and current homeowners are both passionate about outdoor kitchens, the value of homes with an outdoor luxury cooking space already installed can significantly raise the selling price of your home when you eventually decide to sell. This makes an outdoor kitchen a good investment if you choose your design and materials wisely.

More Effective Square Space at Home

The primary focus of the outdoor living trend is extending your effective square space without building more indoor air-conditioned rooms. Instead, an outdoor kitchen embraces the breeze and the joy of lightly sheltered natural weather, soaking up the sunshine and fresh air while hosting a cooking show for the whole family.

Source: Istockphoto

Lifestyle Remodels Perfect the Home Space for Your Enjoyment

Lifestyle remodels are also on the rise, as homeowners find new ways to bring joy to the home design. It’s not just about personality, lifestyle remodels like an outdoor kitchen make it possible to embrace the joy of homeownership and increase your everyday luxury enjoyed in the home.

Building Your Dream Kitchen from a Blank Slate

One great reason to build an outdoor kitchen is that you’re starting from scratch. Every home chef has a vision of their dream kitchen, but remodeling your current kitchen can be far more limiting (and costly) than starting out on your deck or patio with a blank-slate instead. Decide the shape, size, and appliances of your outdoor kitchen. Include the pizza oven you’ve always dreamed of or install three sinks and a built-in barbecue if that’s your fancy. Without the cost or hassle of ripping out the existing indoor kitchen.

Designing Perfect Place to Entertain Family and Friends

Entertainment space is also at the top of everyone’s mind right now. Not only are we looking for more private venues for gatherings, but we are also spending more time with family. A family ‘venue’ with an outdoor kitchen and beautifully lit patio dining can make your smaller home gatherings that much more enjoyable. From block party barbecues to family holidays, an outdoor kitchen and paired dining or lounging area creates the perfect summer celebration space for family and friends.

Green Lifestyle and Outdoor Kitchens

Over the last five years, green construction and home design have taken the spotlight. Homeowners are more concerned with eco-friendly building materials and remodel projects that make their homes and lifestyles ‘greener’ in every possible way. An outdoor kitchen has a great deal of potential for green lifestyle upgrades.

Keep the Heat Outdoors and Save on Cooling

A big part of ‘green’ living is using less power. In the summer, that means keeping the cool indoors and reducing your ‘heat leaks’ inside the house. Needless to say, the stove and oven are pretty big sources of heat, especially when you’re really getting into recipe exploration. Outdoor kitchens disappate that heat into the open air, meaning your cooling costs stay low even around dinner time.

Cook Your Most Fragrant Foods Outdoors

You can also save on air ventilation if you like to cook fragrant foods with an odor that sticks around. Share your cooking smells once with the whole neighborhood (who doesn’t like to walk past the smell of barbecue on a night walk?) without having to scrub the spice-vapor residue from your indoor stove hood later on.

Easier to Clean When the Cooking is Done

When you clean up from outdoor cooking, it’s so much easier and greener than cleaning up indoors. Toss your produce trimmings into a nearby compost barrel and your meat scraps to the family pets as you go. If your cooking (or kids) make too much of a mess, you can always cover the controls and then hose down your stone countertops and deck for a quick and natural clean.

Promote Outdoor Exercise Before and After Meals

Even better for a healthy family, cooking outdoors encourages everyone to get a little fresh air and exercise – both before and after meals. When your family is eagerly waiting for a delicious-smelling meal to cook, they can run around and play games outside to work up an appetite. And eating outdoors makes it so much easier to transition into a health post-dinner stroll around the backyard garden path to help with digestion and put those calories to more efficient use inside the body.

The New Focus on At-Home Luxury

Last but not least, the recent pandemic has certainly spurred the popularity of outdoor kitchens with a new focus on doing everything at home.

Spotlighting Home Chefs in the At-Home Movement

With restaurants closed and out-of-the-house activities unavailable, the family chef is suddenly a celebrity in many households. When dinner preparation becomes a major source of entertainment at home, why not build yourself the perfect outdoor entertainer kitchen and at-home dining venue? Many families are embracing the outdoor kitchen and living spaces as a fun alternative to going out, and celebrating the home chef for making mealtimes special without leaving the house.

Saving on Restaurant Meals by Celebrating with Food at Home

Even as restaurants reopen and delivery Is widely available, turning the backyard into your own home restaurant saves a bundle on groceries every month.  Instead of ordering pizza, try out your new outdoor pizza oven. Instead of going out for a family birthday party, use your outdoor kitchen to prepare a special meal and present the cake on a beautiful stone coutnertop.

Healthy Food Tastes Better Outdoors

Finally, there’s the special thing we discover after sharing a meal with family outdoors: Everything tastes better in fresh air. Including healthy foods. Ever notice how your kids eat the fruit and veggies off their kebabs during summer barbecues, but not when the kebabs are indoors? How the veggie dip trays empty when the firepit is lit, but not during indoor mingles? We love outdoor kitchens because everything prepared and eaten outdoors just states better.

Designing Your Ideal Outdoor Kitchen

Thinking about building your own outdoor kitchen? Start with the appliances and designs you like best, then finalize your plan by choosing your products and a beautiful stone countertop to pull it all together. The perfect outdoor kitchen for your home, lifestyle, and at-home event plans is just a few steps away from reality. Explore our granite countertop options for outdoor kitchens by checking out the St Louis gallery page.

The post Why Building an Outdoor Kitchen is So Hot This Year appeared first on Arch City Granite & Marble.

Outdoor kitchens are all the rage in home building and renovations these days and why not? When the weather is fantastic, cooking in a stuffy kitchen feels suffocating. When you have guests, moving the party to your back deck so you can enjoy the evening air will make entertaining incredibly enjoyable. Imagine cooking up your delicious dinner outdoors with everything at your fingertips, rather than running back and forth to your kitchen. The convenience itself is worth it.
An outdoor kitchen is also an extension of your living space. It gives guests another place to congregate and socialize. Grilling outdoors is a part of the American culture thus an outdoor kitchen to accommodate your favorite grilled recipes and patio barbeque dinners just makes sense. When you are designing your outdoor kitchen, here are a few tips to get you started.

Plan the layout

As you get started on this exciting project, you will need to decide where things will go. L and U-shaped designs are very popular as they give aesthetic appeal and convenience while cooking. Determine where the seating and tables in relation to the kitchen area and where appliances should be installed.

Choose durable countertops

The ability to prepare your food outside will be tremendously beneficial. A countertop that can withstand wear and tear, the elements as well as heat and cold is ideal. Granite, soapstone are great ideas for your outdoor kitchen. Not only does it bring an attractive element of class and sophistication to your cooking and entertaining space, these countertops are the best for outdoor kitchen areas since they are the most durable options. They also do well in hot, cold and wet environments. Water cannot warp them and with proper care, they will look beautiful for many years. Build the countertop around a sink and bring your outdoor cooking experience to a new level.

Cabinets and drawers to store everything

When cooking outdoors, having all the utensils, dishes and cooking tools you will need right at your fingertips makes a huge difference. When you are running back and forth between your outdoor grill and kitchen for supplies, it can be a stressful workout. Building cabinet and drawers to house items for all your outdoor cooking and serving needs will be an incredible help. Select the materials for your cabinets carefully. Wood is beautiful but if your outdoor kitchen will be exposed easily to rain, sleet or snow, these cabinets could be easily damaged. Stainless steel cabinets or those with a durable, waterproof finish are recommended.

Decide which appliances you want

The appliances for your outdoor kitchen will determine the accessibility and ease of your experience. There are a wide variety of appliances to select from and based on your habits and preferences, you can choose what is right for you.

• Grill: This seems like a must as grilling is the highlight of an outdoor kitchen. Whether you choose to leave it freestanding and portable or built-in is up to you.
• Refrigerator: Many people opt for a built-in mini fridge but this is a personal preference. A larger refrigerator can hold more drinks and grilling items so if a smaller cooling unit is inadequate for your style, opt for a larger one.
• Smoker: Smokers are popular choices and it would be good to consider placing a smoker next to the grill.
• Ice maker: How wonderful would it be to always have ice for cold drinks right at your fingertips? An ice maker is a nice luxury.
• Kegerator: This is a new, trendy item in outdoor kitchens. A built-in kegerator with at least two taps gives you the option for cold beer at the push of a button. You can even fill the taps with soda pop for the kids!
• Brick oven: What is better than wood fired pizza in a brick oven? Imagine bringing that deliciousness to your next dinner party? A brick oven is a popular choice for outdoor kitchens and your guests will not disagree.
  Decide which appliances are right for your outdoor kitchen and make a space for them in your layout plans.

Plan for shade and shelter

It will be hard to enjoy an outdoor kitchen without shade. Grilling and cooking with the sun beating down upon your back will be miserable. While some of your guests will enjoy a seat in a sunny spot, it’s nice to have seating options in the shade. If your outdoor space does not already have it, building a cover over your patio or deck will help you enjoy this area so much more.
A patio table with an attached umbrella is also a nice touch to abate the heat while eating. Covering your outdoor kitchen, patio and deck also means that outdoor grilling and dining is possible if there is rain. There is nothing more enjoyable than watching a good summer rainstorm from the protection of a deck as you sip a tasty drink and chat with friends and family.

Stay warm and cozy

You don’t want to only use your outdoor kitchen 3-4 months out of the year when it’s warm, do you? Finding a way to provide a bit of warmth on a chilly or winter day means you can enjoy your outdoor kitchen year round. Standing heaters, a fireplace or a fire pit are nice additions to your space to keep you cozy and allow you to enjoy all seasons from the comfort of your deck or patio.

Install adequate lighting

Because most patio dining is done during dinnertime, plan for how you will light up your space so you do not have to retire inside once the sun sets. Overhead, installed lights or a few strands of cozy outdoor lights strung above will be appreciated as night falls. Installing brighter lights near the cooking area is a good idea so you can see the tasks at hand well. Softer lighting near the seating area sets the mood, creating the perfect ambiance.

A perfect place to relax and socialize

When your outdoor kitchen is finished, you will love the added space it delivers for parties and entertaining. Arch City Granite is your best choice for premium granite slabs for outdoor kitchen countertops, tabletops, outdoor fireplace mantles and much, much more! Bring that element of beauty and sophistication to your outdoor entertaining space with a beautiful selection of granite, quartz, marble and soapstone from Arch City Granite.

The post Tips for Building a Beautiful Outdoor Kitchen appeared first on Arch City Granite & Marble.